


Snowflakes in her Eyelashes

by skittiecat



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-26
Updated: 2019-09-26
Packaged: 2020-10-28 14:36:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20780195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skittiecat/pseuds/skittiecat
Summary: Ashe is having trouble getting his feelings across to Byleth, so he asks his younger sister for assistance.





	Snowflakes in her Eyelashes

**Author's Note:**

> I felt like writing some Ashe fluff!
> 
> I used @rokusashu on twitter's headcanon-names for Ashe's younger siblings (Kendra and Marlon), although only Ashe's sister appears in this.

Ashe was in a bit of a bind on this brisk winter afternoon. The snowflakes were fluttering through the chilled air and gently drifting to the ground, as if a brilliant ballerina was dancing delicately in the center of each and every beautiful flake. Ashe's current thoughts were not of the snow though, beautiful as it was. No, the thoughts which held his mind captive were concerning matters of the heart.

He had realized before the war had ended how much Byleth had meant to him, but never felt it was the appropriate time to bring it up. He had always been told that when you fall in love with someone, your heart would be constantly aflutter and your stomach would be doing constant somersaults, and that you would barely be able to control what ridiculous words poured from your mouth. This was an entirely different feeling though. Of course, he still felt such magical feelings on occasion, and when he did he felt as though his feet were weightless and as if his body could effortlessly fly through the air if he willed it to, but what he felt more than anything was a sense of peace whenever Byleth was by his side. He felt at ease with her even during the most intense moments of the war, he felt like he could love her openly without having any fear of it ever falling apart. He felt as though she was the one person that he could find true love and companionship with for the rest of his days. Despite how strong his feelings were though, how obvious he felt he was being without standing on the rooftops and shouting out his love for her for all the world to hear, Byleth never exactly seemed to get the hint.  
  
Ashe found himself desperate enough to seek out the counsel of his younger sister, Kendra, which is what brought him into his current predicament. He was four years her senior, but at this point, he thought that maybe he was going about everything in the wrong manner, and that perhaps another girl would understand what exactly was going through Byleth's mind better than he ever could.  
  
"Oh brother, you're so hopeless," Kendra had said to him, lips curving into a wry, teasing smile.  
  
Ashe felt heat rush to his face, and the embarrassment of knowing he was visibly turning red from his cheeks to his ears in the middle of a busy marketplace did nothing to combat the feeling of being teased by his younger sister.  
  
"C-can you please just help me with this? It's really important to me..."  
  
Kendra mischievously giggled, her nose scrunching up with laughter in the delight of seeing her normally calm and collected older brother so nervous.  
  
"I suppose I can help~ But you'll owe me!"  
  
"I know, I know. Anything you want."  
  
Kendra put her hands on her hips, facing her elder brother in a confident and powerful pose.  
  
"Alright, let's go find a romantic present for your girlfriend!" Kendra shouted energetically while lifting a fist up, enthusiastically punching the air.  
  
"Kendra, shhhhh! She is not my girlfriend, that's the whole reason we're even doing this."  
  
"Really, why are you so nervous? Are you afraid she's going to sneak up behind you?"  
  
"I'm beginning to think maybe it would be better if she did," Ashe chuckled dryly, "I've taken her out on dates, given her flowers, I've even baked her very favorite sweets for her. I feel as though I've done everything short of outright proposing to her, but she just keeps on telling me what a nice friend I'm being."  
  
Kendra cupped her chin in her hand and hummed.  
  
"Well, have you told her you love her yet?"  
  
"W-what?! No, of course not!"  
  
"Well why not?"  
  
She looked at him with such a sense of innocence and genuine wonder in her eyes that he nearly forgot that she was an adult herself now. Every time he looked at his younger siblings, he still saw them as the children he swore to protect all those years ago. How they've grown into such wonderful and kind people, he thought to himself. Still, as their elder brother, he doubted he could ever stop himself from seeing them that way, from doting upon them and feeling like he constantly had to protect them from all the dangers and hardships of the world, and if they thought him overbearing for it then so be it.  
  
Kendra sighed and crossed her arms, her breath appearing as a small, white cloud that mingled together with the dancing snowflakes before dissipating. She shook her head and smirked to herself, no doubt thinking to herself what a hopeless brother she had, and made her way to one of the many open stalls in the busy marketplace. Ashe quickly caught up to her, hoping and praying that maybe they could find something to help him finally get his feeling across to Byleth once and for all.  
  
"Welcome," the all-familiar voice of Anna greeted them, goddess knows whether or not it was the same Anna he knew from his academy days or not.  
  
"Please let me know if there's anything you have questions about. Only if you're really gonna buy it, though!"  
  
Ashe chuckled softly and then turned his gaze to all the wares. The war may be over now, but the merchants still sold all sorts of things that would still be useful in a fight-vulneraries, weapons, armor, and all sorts of accessories. This stall was different though, what Ashe and Kendra found here consisted of colorful, vibrant and sparkling jewels. Everything here was absolutely brilliant and breathtaking, the pair of siblings silently thought to themselves, but Ashe was sure anything worthy of gifting to Byleth would be far more than he could ever hope to pay for.  
  
Kendra's eyes lingered upon a particular ring made of white gold with a jewel adorning the center, a sparkling green hue as if it were made of springtime leaves filtering the gentle sunlight throughout and between them on a clear and sunny day. It was a smaller stone than some of the others here, but as soon as Ashe's eyes fell upon it, he knew it was perfect.  
  
"That one matches her eyes perfectly," he tenderly said, his hand resting over his heart as if trying to calm it.  
  
"We'll take it, doesn't matter how much," Kendra demanded, shoving a bag of coins in Anna's general direction.  
  
Anna skeptically weighed the bag in her hand, but her skepticism quickly turned to delight as soon as she opened the small cloth sack to reveal its contents.  
  
"Done and done! Thanks for your business!"  
  
"Kendra, how...?"  
  
Kendra picked up the small and delicate ring and handed it to her brother.  
  
"It's money I got from making sweets for people in my spare time. You taught me how, so it was the least I can do to help. Anyway, here you go, you're welcome!"  
  
Ashe took the ring into his hands and held it gingerly. He'd definitely keep it safe until...  
  
"Wait, what exactly am I supposed to do with a ring?"  
  
"Propose, of course!"  
  
"B-but we're not even dating??"  
  
"Oh? Are you proposing to someone?"  
  
A familiar voice interrupted, nearly making Ashe jump out of his skin, causing him to yelp out in surprise.  
  
"B-Byleth! Hello! What are you doing here?" Ashe quickly turned, the hand with the ring nervously hidden behind him.  
  
"I just came here to get some extra supplies. I heard there are some bandits nearby so I thought I'd take care of them. Anyway, what's this about proposing? I didn't know you'd been seeing anyone."  
  
Ashe nodded along with what she was saying, trying to ignore the last part of what she said to him.  
  
"Bandits, I see, I see. I guess they'll always be around as long as there's money to steal, crime doesn't _pay_ after all," Ashe nervously laughed as he fidgeted about.  
  
Kendra muttered to herself as she hid her face in her hands, the secondhand embarrassment clearly killing her inside.  
  
"Hi Byleth! My brother has something really important to ask you, so please listen really closely, okay? I'm going to leave now, so I'll see you later~!"  
  
Kendra waved and skipped off with a wink directed towards Ashe, leaving him standing there alone with Byleth among the crowd of the marketplace.  
  
"So? What did you want to ask me?" Byleth asked him, a single hand resting upon on her hip and a twinge of curiosity in her voice.  
  
"I'm not sure right here is the best place to have this discussion..."  
  
"Oh? Well, it can wait until I get back if you want. I might be gone for about a week or so."  
  
A week? Ashe wasn't sure if his heart could take waiting another week to tell her how he feels about her. All sorts of thoughts bounced around in his head, but whether or not he had agreed with his younger sister's tactics, she had given him the courage, the resolve, to finally gather the strength from within and finally tell Byleth how he truly feels about her.  
  
"Actually, I... I want you to have this," he declared as he presented the ring to Byleth, feeling ever so small, almost as if he was the young boy from the academy all over again.

"Oh, a ring? This is lovely Ashe, thank you for the thoughtful gift. I'll be sure to cherish it."  
  
She slipped the ring on her finger, smiling as she admired how it sparkled and glimmered as it captured the light in the deep green shades within.  
  
"So you just wanted to give me a parting gift?"  
  
Ashe wanted to scream. He began to wonder if yelling from the rooftops was a better idea to get his feelings across after all.  
  
"N-not exactly... You see, that ring, well... It's meant to be an engagement ring. I wanted to give it to you to show you how much you mean to me."  
  
Byleth stared, her expression difficult to read as always.  
  
"I know this isn't how proposals typically go, but--"  
  
"Hold on," Byleth commanded, gaining Ashe's full attention as she rustled through her layered clothing, retrieving a small object hidden from somewhere within the multiple layers.  
  
"Here, for you."  
  
Byleth extended her hand to Ashe's, gently removing his glove and and slipping Jeralt's ring onto his finger.  
  
"Hold on, what's this?"  
  
"I've actually been wanting to give this to you for a while now, but I could never find the right time. You've been such a sweet friend to me, and during the war, you were a trusted companion and ally that I could always count on. I feel like I'm home whenever I'm with you. I love you. Will you accept me as your partner, Ashe?"  
  
Ashe felt as though his head was about to explode, his pulse was pounding so hard within his ears. He was supposed to be the one confessing his feelings to her, so he absolutely was not expecting the opposite to happen instead. He stood wide-eyed for what felt like an eternity, her confession reducing him to someone frozen in complete and utter shock.  
  
"...Ashe?"  
  
"Oh! Forgive me, I-I just wasn't expecting to hear that from you," he chuckled, unable to hide his giddiness from his face.  
  
"Are you really sure? All this time, I'd been trying to court you. I thought that maybe you didn't feel the same way about me."  
  
"You've been trying to... court me? I never realized, my apologies. You should be more clear with your intentions from now on."  
  
"That's what my sister said too," Ashe chuckled sheepishly, “b-but I... I love you too. I’ve been in love with you for a long time, now.”  
  
Byleth's lips lifted at one corner, smirking at Ashe's sweet and earnest nature. Of course he wouldn't just come out and tell her his feelings before now, he probably thought it was inconveniencing her or something equally ridiculous. He probably would have gone on forever without telling her, had this entire awkward situation not played out exactly as it had.  
  
"Ashe, close your eyes."  
  
"Close my eyes? Alright," Ashe complied.  
  
He felt her hand rest upon his shoulder as she leaned into him. His breath caught in his throat as he began to feel her own breath creep upon him, warm against his snow-chilled skin. He could feel her lips gently rub against his; they were dry and probably chapped but he didn't care; his heart was beating at a million beats per minute and he felt like he was about to melt into a puddle right in the snow. Right now, in this very moment, he forgot they were in a bustling marketplace, and instead felt as though the two of them were alone, floating up through fluffy, wispy clouds during a colorful sunset, the sky painted with all the colors of the rainbow. As soon as her gentle kiss began though, she pulled away and ended it, leaving him with an empty, lonesome feeling. He slowly opened his eyes to gaze upon her, her smile generating warmth as bright and as soothing as the sun's soft rays, full of radiant beauty and serenity. His entire body was heated from that one small show of affection, and he felt like he needed to shed all his outer layers despite the snow's constant presence. Byleth laughed softly, her laugh resonating through the air like chimes upon the wind, like the most soothing song anyone could ever dream of.  
  
"So... Is that a yes?"  
  
"I'll give you my answer when I get back, but until then," she leaned up and gave him a quick peck upon his freckled nose, snowflakes caught and nestled delicately on her eyelashes.

"I'll let you use your imagination," she winked.


End file.
